Sony Pictures Television is adapting the sci-fi novel The City In The Middle Of The Night for the small screen. The book, which was released earlier this year, is set on January, a desolate alien world that is barely habitable for its human colonizers. The world’s deteriorating cities are run by tyrannical governments that run every facet of its citizens’ lives, casting them out onto the planet’s unlivable surface should they refuse to obey, or even come to be suspected of sedition. Such is what happens to protagonist Sophie, who manages to survive the frozen wasteland by befriending the planet’s vilified native race, known as the Gelet. Through a telepathic link, Sophie is charged by these aliens to build a lasting peace between their two species. When she returns to her home city, however, a tide of revolution has swept through the population, and conflict seems imminent. Despite her reservations, it is up to Sophie to prevent a coming conflict that will tear what’s left of humanity’s settlements apart, all while convincing mankind that the reviled Gelet are actually their only salvation in the face of dwindling resources.
The City In The Middle Of The Night comes from author Charlie Jane Anders, whose past works include the critically acclaimed sci-fi novel All The Birds in the Sky and the short story collection Six Months, Three Days, Five Others. Anders took to Twitter to express her excitement for the book’s adaptation, exclaiming, “YES IT’S TRUE. Now it can be told! The incredibly smart humans who translated all of the coolness of The Expanse to the screen are now turning their giant brains to my book The City in the Middle of the Night. I’m so glad I no longer have to freak out in silence!”
Spearheading the novel’s adaptation for television is Sharon Hall, whose past efforts as executive producer have given way to Amazon’s critically acclaimed science fiction series The Expanse. Like The City In the Middle of the Night, The Expanse is based on literary source material. The upcoming show has been optioned through Hall’s production company, Mom de Guerre Productions, which is tied to Sony through a first-look deal.
There is currently no available timetable for the show’s development and release.